Ubisoft sorry Assassin’s Creed Shadows artwork features real-life historical re-enactment group logo

Assassin’s Creed Shadows developer Ubisoft has owned up to including a historical re-enactment group’s logo in artwork for its upcoming feudal Japan stabathon, and apologised for its use without permission.

Fans spotted the flag of the Sekigahara Teppo-tai infantryman reenactment group in concept art on Ubisoft’s website, and flagged (sorry) the matter to the group itself (thanks, Siliconera).

Writing on social media, the re-enactment group’s cannon chief said they contacted Ubisoft last month about the issue. Ubisoft later responded, and told them that the online version of the artwork had been removed.

“Honestly, I’m not sure how to react,” cannon chief and X user matchlock_kage wrote.

Ubisoft Japan has now posted to say it had identified two uses of the Sekigahara Teppo-tai logo in concept art – with at least one of these making its way into the game’s artbook included with its Collector’s Edition.

“The art in question will not be used or distributed any further beyond this date, except for being included in the artbook in the Collector’s Edition,” Ubisoft wrote. “We deeply apologise for this matter.”

There’s no suggestion the logo will still be present in Shadows itself when the game launches in November.

Ubisoft unveiled its long-awaited Japan-set Assassin’s Creed entry last month to a strong response, and reports of positive pre-order numbers for the publisher. But the game’s developers have also faced online abuse, whipped up by a tweet from X owner Elon Musk, over the prominence of its Black samurai character Yasuke, a historical figure from the period.